


On the Edge

by Elivra



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: ACWNR inspired, F/F, Flirty Eruris, From Love Death & Robots, Sonnie's Edge AU, Tagged mainly for strong language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-20
Updated: 2019-04-20
Packaged: 2020-01-20 15:25:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18527827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elivra/pseuds/Elivra
Summary: This is supposed to be a continuation of the Sonnie's Edge episode in the Netflix anthology Love Death & Robots. The Underground trio replace the main leads in the episode, and the plot loosely follows ACWNR. Fem!Eruri, because of course. Rated for (really) strong language.





	On the Edge

**Author's Note:**

  * For [HoshisamaValmor (HannibalCatharsis)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/HannibalCatharsis/gifts).



> I am in a major slump, but I somehow managed to write this in, like, 20 days! Yikes. Still, I credit the wonderful HannibalCatharsis for motivating me to finish this, so this one's for you! :)
> 
> So, if you readers haven't watched the episode named "Sonnie's Edge" in the Netflix series "Love Death & Robots", I would suggest you watch it, because this story continues after that episode ends. There's nothing spoiler-y in my story, but I have not spent time on the setting, which you'll understand better if you watch the episode. 
> 
> And trust me, that episode is _mind-blowing_. If you don't mind gore, strong language, and slightly NSFW lesbians, then it'll be 17 mins well-spent! (Yes, the episode really is that short)
> 
> Happy reading!
> 
> [[ I was listening to [THIS](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TovOe0uAAvQ) intermittently while writing. ]]

* * *

  **ON THE EDGE**

_Featuring_

_**Farlan** as Wes_

_**Isabel** as Ivrina_

_**Levi** as Sonnie_

**_Khanivore as Herself_ **

* * *

 

They finally stop for a break on the side of a large highway outside the city. She steps to the back of the truck, away from the glaring headlights of the passing vehicles before she lights her smoke. Night traffic lights have always given her a headache... which is nothing compared to what she's feeling right now because of that _dick_ , Dicko.

Right on cue, Iz pokes her head around the truck. “Feelin’ alright?” Her voice is gruff, but she knows concern when she hears it.

Levi gingerly taps the side of her head, which is completely mummified in what feels like a pound of bandages. “Yeah.”

Iz simply frowns. “Maybe you should lay off from linkin’ to Khan for a bit-”

“I said I'm fine, Izzy, piss off,” she snaps.

Iz's frown deepens. “I'm just askin’,” she pouts. “No need to be such a bitch about it.” Izzy stalks off and Levi leans against the truck with a frustrated sigh.

 _Stupid._ She'd been so bloody _stupid._ All because she'd been horny and a perky little blonde had turned her head. She oughta know better by now. If Kenny ever found out he'd be laughing his tar-bag lungs out--

A slow moving vehicle's headlights flare in the corner of her vision and she winces, waiting for it to pass by. Instead, the light grows nauseatingly brighter, and Levi flicks her cigarette away with a curse, even as Izzy and Far come running to her side. Suddenly the air around them is filled with the sound of powerful tyres skidding in the gravel and the three of them are caught in a focused beam of headlights.

A thrill of fear shoots through Levi, highly aware of Izzy and Far standing weaponless next to her. Her fingers twitch, whether to reach for Khan or for the knife in her belt, she doesn't know.

Yet.

Iz's lips are curled into an ugly snarl next to her, and Levi touches her hand with the tip of hers to calm her. They need to be careful now.

They hear several car doors opening at once, then footsteps running around them, forming a circle beyond the glare of lights. It sounds like an entire fucking army has them surrounded.

A towering man steps into the light before them. He's decked out in sophisticated armour, _combat_ armour, and from his silhouette, it looks like he's tall and built, with a glint of blond hair visible over his mask, exactly Levi's type if she were in the mood for it. And after Dicko, she is definitely _not_ in the mood for it.

“Can we help you?” Far asks bravely and far more politely than Iz had, earlier that evening.

“Are you Levi and team with,” the man checks his arm console, “Khanivore?”

His voice is smooth and deep, his accent cultured. Levi wants to grit her teeth but her head hurts too much. Instead, she curls her fingers into fists and barks, “Who's asking?”

The man cocks his head to the side, seemingly curious. “What happened to you?”

Izzy lets out an angry “Oi!” but Levi cuts her off with an outstretched hand. “I said,” she growls, “who the fuck is askin’?”

“The Commander.”

“Are we supposed to know who the fuck that is?” Iz asks. Farlan murmurs a warning, “Izzy.”

The giant man sounds amused. “We want to make you a deal.”

“Fuck off,” Levi states, turning away. “We're not interested.”

“If you'd just listen to our terms-”

Levi whips around, not before Izzy explodes, “Are you deaf, ya big fucking tree? She's already said no, innit?”

The man doesn't seem offended. “Might I ask why?”

“I'll tell you why,” Levi says, taking a furious step forward. “Because I've fuckin’ had it working for dumbass rich cunts that keep their ego an’ their brains in their _fragile_ little ball sacs. And then they get _me_ in trouble when they get kicked where they fuckin’ deserve.” She spits at his feet. “So tell your _Commander_ I said to him to fuck _._ Off _._ ”

The man has the gall to laugh. “It’s not like that.”

“No?” Levi sneers as both Far and Izzy snort audibly.

“No.” The new voice is _oozing_ authority, and the man steps aside to make way for - a woman. Goosebumps break out on Levi's skin immediately; this is clearly no ordinary woman. She wears no armour, holds no weapon, instead wears simple but expensive black clothes: black tank, black skinny jeans, and a shiny black leather jacket. She looks like a fucking supermodel, tall, with waves of blonde hair that tumble down her shoulders and almost reach her waist, her eyes gleaming an unnatural jewel blue. She is sinfully _gorgeous_.

And, going by the reaction of the men around her, clearly dangerous.

Levi has to fight to not reach for her knife. As good as she is in a fight, there's no holding off herself, and more importantly Far and Izzy, against all the guns pointed at them in the dark. In the sudden silence, everyone hears the rumbling growl Khan lets out in the back of the truck.

The woman's lazer gaze flickers over to the truck before coming back to rest on Levi. “May I have a word?” Her voice is soft and deep and firm. There's no doubt who she is.

Levi pretends she doesn't get it and simply raises her visible eyebrow.

Instead of looking annoyed, the Commander _smirks_. “Just you and me.”

Iz bristles visibly. “You can say what you want to say right here-” Levi cuts her off again with a raised palm. Damn her if she's falling for the same trap twice tonight (fucking _blondes_ ) but something about this whole scenario feels different. _She_ is different.

Levi simply jerks her head towards the side of the truck and, quelling her sudden dizziness, she walks away. The Commander follows, her boots scrunching loudly in the sudden silence that descends upon them. Levi walks until she is sure they're out of earshot, then leans against the side of the truck, feeling Khan let out a low rumble from the inside.

The Commander's eyes are on the truck walls again. “She's very protective.”

Levi moves past the accurate 'she’ and shrugs. “We've had a rough night.”

The Commander leans her shoulder on the truck, facing her, not too close and yet close enough for Levi to feel the warmth of her body. “It appears so,” she murmurs, eyeing Levi's bandages. Her accent is just as posh as the man's, and Levi scowls.

“Go on, then. Spin me your fucking deal.”

The Commander reaches into her jacket pocket and Levi stiffens up immediately; inside the truck, she can feel Khan rear up, fluid sloshing over the rim of her container. But the Commander smoothly fishes out a cigarette case, calm as ever. “Smoke?” She asks, offering the titanium case, either unaware or unconcerned about Levi's mistrust.

Levi's never one to hesitate or show any sort of weakness, so she snatches one sullenly. The Commander takes one herself, then leans forward to light Levi's cigarette; this time coming so close that she can smell the shampoo wafting from her blond tresses. Fuck, she smells _insanely_ good.

There is a _look_ in those maddening blue eyes that makes Levi want to snap at her, but she leans back before she can. “So,” the Commander says, “we've heard a lot about you, Levi.”

Levi simply waits. The Commander continues, smiling slightly, “We've been told you have… an edge.”

And that reminds her of the _cunts_ Jennifer and Dicko, and she scowls. “Let me guess: you wanna know what my fucking _edge_ is?”

The Commander snorts. “Oh, no. I've seen you fight and you're incredible. You're strong, and focused, and your battle strategies are otherworldly.” Levi looks away, scowl deepening. “You have this sort of -indomitable spirit when you fight. And I for one don't care how or why, just that you do. You see, we just want…” Her voice tapers away and her smile widens when Levi takes her first drag of the cigarette and then breathes it out with wide eyes and a whispered, “Holy shit.”

“Good, isn't it?” The Commander asks pleasantly, and Levi, who has never smoked anything so honey-smooth in her life, can only nod. “It's a very special blend. Made in-house, as a matter of fact, using GM tobacco that our own biological scientist created. They are a master at genetics, and-”

Alarm bells are suddenly ringing in Levi's head. _Biological scientist. Genetics. Don't care how or why._

 _We've been told you have an_ _edge_ _._

Khan lets out an ear-splitting roar from inside the truck, and that is the only warning the Commander has before Levi leaps at her, her knife out of its sheath and securely in her grasp. The woman lets out a loud “Oof!” as Levi slams her against the truck wall; instantly, the lights shift to focus on the two of them, and all around them, Levi can hear the sounds of boots and guns being primed -shit, they're all _heavily_ armed. Izzy screams somewhere beyond them, sending Levi's heart into overdrive.

“You _bitch_ ,” Levi growls, but before she can finish, the Commander grapples with her faster than expected and slips out of her grasp -the woman is at least a foot taller than her and fuckall _strong_ . Levi attacks her again with a snarl -she is fast, but not fast enough -and within a split-second of sparring, Levi has her backed up against the truck again. Khan lets out another roar and the truck fucking _wobbles_.

The Commander gasps, “Wait,” against the cold blade on her throat, even as they hear the sound of running footsteps, and the armoured blond man from before is sprinting at them, the light on his charged gun gleaming.

“Wait!” The Commander barks, louder. “Stand down!”

The man sounds like he is gritting his teeth. “Erwin, for fucks’ sake-”

“Mike.” Her voice is louder, colder than Levi has heard yet. Her throat bobs against Levi's blade and a single drop of blood trickles down. “Everyone. Stand. The fuck. _Down_.”

The man - Mike -only positions his gun higher to aim at them. “She's got a fucking knife at your throat-”

The Commander's face is twisted in fury. “ _I said-”_ Whatever she was going to say next is lost in the sudden loud screech of metal, and with a roar that Levi feels in her very bones, Khan claws her way out of the top of the truck, her eyes gleaming rage and murder.

And instantly Levi feels a spurt of weakness, her head is blindingly painful, and she can see dark spots in the corner of her vision, even as it starts to turn a familiar shade of blue.

 _No._ She thinks, panicking. _Not now. Khan, not_ _now._

The men have begun to shout, she can see their guns all swivelling up to point at Khan, Far and Izzy are screaming again, and Levi feels like she's getting a heart attack. She tries her best not to show her weakness, but something seems to alert the Commander, who does a crisp maneuver that sends Levi's knife toppling to the ground. But Levi recovers instantly, and now they’re stuck in an impasse, each with the other’s wrist in their grasp.

“Levi,” the woman grits, “that was badly put. Allow me-”

But Levi is distracted when she sees that the fight has revealed a patch of shorn blonde hair right above her ear, where there is a small, dark oblong device, a bright green LED circle gleaming on it.

“You’re a pilot,” Levi blurts, shocked... when it happens.

The ground fucking _trembles_ , and Khan’s angry screeches above them cut out abruptly. Levi can guess what it is: large footsteps, heavy footsteps, _running_. Towards them.

The men to their diagonal right scatter immediately, and the Commander sucks in a quick breath to roar, _“LIBBY, DOWN!”_

And then the _thing_ skids to a halt right in the bright circle of light, showering everyone with bits of light gravel. The beast is huge, with a large, cat-like face and a lithe, dark feline body. But instead of fur it has a shuddering mane of dull gold _scales_ that taper along its spine all the way to the tip of its tail, each of its bronze claws the size of Levi’s forearm. It bares its teeth at the two of them, and it has fangs like a bloody ancient sabretooth.

There is utter, terrified silence.

Khan recovers first, of course, roaring again, and Levi comes so close to blacking out, she shrieks an instinctive _“STOP!”_

Khan stills on the edge of the truck, her claws clenching, her tail waving furiously. The spots in Levi’s vision clear enough for her to slam the Commander back against the truck wall, even though her left wrist is still in the other woman’s grasp. The lion-freak on the ground growls, but does not move; Levi ignores it and growls herself, “Talk. Now.”

The woman looks infuriatingly calm again. “My name is Erwin Smith, and I’m the Commander of the Survey Corps.”

“I don’t know what that is.”

“I’m getting to it,” the woman says, nodding. “We’re a shadow military section, created decades ago to fight the Titans.”

At that, Levi is so shocked, she leans back. “No one fights the Titans,” she wheezes. She’s heard of these creatures, course. No one knows who made them or where they came from, but they have kept the Outer Lands in terror for years. All Levi knows, all _everyone_ knows, is that even the smallest Titans are thrice the size of an average Beast, and that they are monstrously difficult to kill, pun intended.

The Commander smirks humourlessly. “Well, we do. We have been, with little success, for a while, actually. It’s only gotten better in the last decade, since we started fighting with our own Beasts.” She nods at the lion-freak.

“So, what?” Levi sneers. “You want Khan and I to fight them battles for you?”

The Commander smiles for the first time, a proper smile, and it fairly knocks Levi over sideways, god _damn_ her. “Not exactly. You see, Levi, we want you to fight _with_ us.” All Levi can do is stare at this point, digesting the information, feeling Khan’s tail flicking irritably.

Of all the people, Farlan speaks up at this point. “You said this was supposed to be a deal,” he says timidly. The Commander turns her smile onto him. “We did. Well, here’s the deal: fight with us, and we won’t turn you in for illegal battling. In fact, your records will be wiped clean. You’ll be legit, through and through.”

Izzy finally seems to find her voice, too. “You call that a fuckin'  _deal_?” She snaps.

The Commander simply turns back to look at Levi, and raises a thick eyebrow. “You’d do well in coming with us, you know. Especially with what we’ve been hearing about Richard “Dicko” Lobov’s fighting ring burning down this evening.” Her sapphire eyes seem to burn right through. “Lend me your strength, Levi. Help me get rid of those monsters.”

Khan lets out a low growl deep in her throat, and Levi shushes her mentally. This situation is _shit_ , has been shit ever since they drove into Dicko’s compound earlier that evening. They shouldn’t have gone there. They really fucking shouldn’t have.

But the Commander's words are ringing in her head. _Legit, through and through._ A fresh start. All three of them could do with it, all three of them with their shitty pasts and their niche lifestyles. Levi had never imagined she'd be able to keep Khan in her life in anything but an illegal scenario. And now the government would _pay_ for her to keep her. With the Commander, who for some reason seems incredibly trustworthy.

She glances discreetly at Far and Izzy, who are already staring at her, the meaning in their gazes plain. And for the first time in a _long_ time, Levi feels a sense of relief wash over her.

When she looks back, the Commander is gazing into her eyes as though she can _see_ the thoughts churning in her wired-up head. That, and the fact that she is suddenly _very_ aware of the Commander’s body pinned against her, makes Levi loosen her grip on her wrist, and slowly, they step apart. From the corner of her eye, she sees the giant, Mike, finally power down and lower his gun.

“Fine,” Levi mutters, crossing her arms and blinking against the pain pounding in her head. “We’ll fight with you, _Commander_.”

The woman is practically beaming now, and it’s like the sun has suddenly appeared in the middle of the night. “Welcome aboard,” she says softly, offering her hand and waiting till Levi shakes it. “And please, call me Erwin.”

Levi cannot look directly into those deep blue eyes, and keeps her gaze trained on the ground. “Yeah, whatever.”

They begin to walk towards the rest of the group, and Far and Iz come to flank Levi’s sides immediately. “We, ah. Can get you new transport for…”

“Khan,” Levi supplies, and Khan leaps down to the ground on cue, hovering protectively over the three of them. “Yeah, that’d be good.”

The soldiers around them don’t raise their guns, but they step back discreetly. _Erwin_ , however, must have a death wish, because she leans right up close to Khan’s jaw. “Nice to meet you, Khan,” she says softly, but wisely doesn’t touch her. Khan simply lets out an annoyed grunt and turns away, making Levi smirk.

“She’ll grow to like me,” Erwin says confidently. In the background, several sleek dark SUVs and trucks are starting to pull in.

“Keep telling yourself that,” Levi grins, following her to one of the trucks.

“I’ll introduce you to Libby later as well,” she says instead, and dabs at the trickle of blood on her neck. “She’s quick to anger.”

Levi snorts. “Of course she is, the fuck kinda name is _Libby_?”

And Erwin lets out a deep, clear, bell-like laugh, making goosebumps shoot up Levi’s skin. “It’s short for Liberatrix.”

“Hmm.” Levi eyes the Beast, who is staring at Khan. “That’s not bad, I guess.”

“I’m glad you approve,” she is smiling wide again, and waves at the back of the new, empty truck.

“We’re riding together,” Levi says immediately, nodding at Far and Iz, who have been silently observing everything.

“Of course. I’ll see you at base, then.” Erwin turns away, then stops, suddenly placing a warm hand on Levi’s shoulder. “I’m looking forward to working with you, Levi.” Her voice is lower, and she is smirking again, _fuck_. “I can’t wait to see how this turns out.”

Levi, of course, _never_ backs down from anything, so she leans closer, matching Erwin’s smirk. “I’m all impatience myself,” she purrs. Erwin chuckles, squeezes her shoulder once, then walks away to the truck where they are loading Libby (which is still a stupid-arse name, in her opinion).

“Levi,” Far mutters unhappily after they close the truck doors behind a grumpy Khan. “Can you keep it in your pants for _once_?”

Levi glances back to see Erwin bending over to pick something up, and she grins, staring openly.

“No promises,” she whispers aside to Farlan, winking at Erwin when she catches her looking. Erwin winks back, and Levi laughs softly as she follows a groaning Farlan into the truck cabin.

 Maybe going to Dicko’s fight had been a good thing, after all.

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Soooo, not as intense as the actual episode, maybe, but I saw my chance at writing more Fem!Eruri, and I snatched it! :)
> 
> I also couldn't ignore the lion motif for Erwin, so used it to describe her Beast.
> 
> As always, let me know what you think down here in a comment, or on [my Tumblr](https://elivra-fanfiction.tumblr.com/)! :) Thanks for reading!


End file.
